I’d say buying an inexpensive trainset and building a small say 4X8 layout would be a good way to get started. As your skills improve and interests change you can always expand the layout. You can also add better quality locos like Kato, Atlas, and Proto 2000 over time.
As for DCC if it’s just going to be you alone operating and all you’re running is one train at a time doing laps around the layout, DCC would be overkill. If over time you decide you want to have a small switcher switching indutries or a passenger train picking up passengers as a freight passes by then I’d say go for it.
My advice would be to look inward and follow your heart. My very first purchase was a brass steam locomotive, a big 4-8-4 one, and I have never regretted it for a moment. Everyone advised against it. Every piece of track I ever laid had to be right. It is still my track test locomotive.
I love steam engines, and everything else is an adjunct to that. What drives you? I watched the Southern terminus at Pinners Point thru a telescope for endless hours as a kid, and my Uncle ran N&W piers. I have no interest in operations left. You?
If there is a train set that moves you, and it is of good quality, go for it, but I would get an engine I really liked above everything else. It is no more difficult to get an engine and some cars and some snap together track and roadbed and a power pack than it is to get the set.
I think you are perched on the cliff not quite ready to make the dive. But, trust me, you are never going to test the waters from up there. LEAP !
My [2c] … I’m quite sure your LHS guy is not trying to fleece you, however, I’m not sure I agree with all of his advice based on what you say your preferences are. Of course he may well have heard some other things in what you’ve told him which we haven’t heard here on the forum.
Trainset [tdn] - bad track, rubbish power supply, variable quality locos and cars. (As it happens the Spectrum steam locos and cars are pretty good - and that 2-8-0 isn’t entirely generic either its a fair model of an Illinois Central 900 class - even if B’mann dress it in some odd road names). If as you say you’re a planner and builder use your own or a published track plan and use nickle silver flex track from the start - more difficult to lay sure - but you’ll be more satisfied with the results. I started with this aged 11 and haven’t looked back. Again if you really are a planner you’ll know which locos and stock your after and want them regadless of what is in any set.
I wouldn’t have advised making a mish-mash to anyone, but if you really don’t know what you like I see his point here. Again if you really are a planner you’ll soon have a pretty good idea of what’s appropriate for your railroad(s) and era, and go in that direction.
For me going DCC for a new starter is a complete no-brainer - you’ve got to do it. Yes, an entry level DCC system (NCE Power Cab, Digitrax Zephyr, etc) costs a little more than a good quality DC power pack, but you can do so much more with DCC. It simplfies wiring considerably and installing a decoder in each loco as you get it keeps the costs down. If you build a 4 x 8 with DC and start a little collection of locos and then change to DCC suddenly installing chips in the collection starts adding up. I don’t buy the DCC is changing sooo fast argument - it isn’t and its backwards compatable thanks to the NMRA anyway
If your going to buy a set, you may want to look at the Digital Commander set that Bachman makes. You get 2 DCC locomotives and a DCC controller. It’s a simple entry level digital set that’s pretty basic but will let you get your feet wet in the digital pond. Add a few more turnouts and pieces of track and some more cars and you’ll have plenty to get started with. Going out and buying an expensive DCC system to start would not be wise. As your guy told you, it might be obsolete in 3-4 years WHEN something better comes out.
Buildings-IHC,DPM and Rix Products make some nice, simple, cheap and versatile buildings that you won’t have to throw away later. $10-$20 per building. You can do a search for “HO structures” on E-Bay and find people selling whole sets of used buildings pretty cheap. You can always repaint and fix them up yourself.
You can make a lot of the scenery yourself from craft store stuff. (trees, mountains, roads) This forum is a great source of info on do it yourself things. Don’t go overboard and overspend on things. It’s REAL easy to do. Good luck and [#welcome]
I see that the majority are leaning towards the advice of the hobby shop owner. I must say that I do too. I have a Frontiersman starter set. It is good quality. Once you get your feet wet and start building your layout that set can always be used under the Xmas tree for years to come and I’ll bet some other uses could be thought of as well. There are no set rules on how to get started in this hobby, and everyone has different ideas, which are all good advice, but in the end I think getting a loop of track and getting a train running will spark your imagination and get things going for you. Ken PS By the way, here is an interesting site for you to visit. www.thortrains.com
Gazoo, my self I think the Local Hobby Shop is trying to do you right. If the starter kit is a Athearn or a Good qualty Bachmann you will be OK. I started out a year ago with a Cheap LL set with snap track. It was easy to hook up and got me started. I soon out grew the LL track but the move to laying Atlas track rather it be Flex or preform track is way tuffer.
I still run DC on the main line and B is DCC. Main thing I like about DCC is sound. But a sound engine will cost you around $150.00 to $350.00 depending. In a short time I have $1400.00 in 6 sound DCC engines.
See if you enjoy the starter set first and don’t go off the deep end like I did. I am happy with what I bought but make sure you are a ture train person first.
Don’t listen to the people that tell you “not to buy some cheap trainset.” If you look it up, the Bachmann Frontiersman set is not just some Toys R Us crap, it is a Spectrum set. That 2-8-0 is a beautiful engine, and it runs great. The Nickel Silver EZ track really isn’t that bad, just look at the basic World’s Greatest Hobby layout you could build with it. With this set, you could easily jump into DCC for about $60 bucks extra if you got the EZ Command controller from Bachmann. The 2-8-0 is already equipped, so you would be ready to go.
I would say you are definitely on the “right track”[:D]
Once upon a time Bachmann was a poor choice and trainsets in general were a bad choice, so a Bachmann train set was a poor bad choice. That was then; this is now.
Note that some of the advice you get ignores the fact that the set you are considering has a steam locomotive. So the first thing to consider - steam or diesel? If you like steam and think you will stay with steam/transition, the Frontiersman is a fine set. The Bachmann Spectrum Consolidation was one of the first of the new super steam locomotives - I believe I have four of them. The Bachmann Silver Streak cars are fine cars.
OTOH, getting a few simple kits is an excellent idea. When you first expand your track, get the suggested Accurail or Athearn or even the Branchline Yardmaster kits and discover the joy of building your own.
He’s given you good advice.By the end of the 1st modelling season (for most of us this is a seasonal hobby) you will have determined if this is just a flavour of the month or your into it for the long haul. For me that’s when you decide on the grand plan, DCC and investing the big bucks.
So YES his is good sound advice.
Fergie
Are you ready for the long haul?
BTW: Bachmann makes good engines and would make a good starter set.
From the LHS owner’s point of view, I’m sure he’s thinking of previous customers who have come in and gotten started by buying a mish-mash of different things - a Conrail diesel, a Pennsy steam engine, a Virginian electric, along with some top-of-the-line flextrack (since “real modellers” don’t use sectional track) and a state of the art DCC system…only to realize in time they’ve made a mess of things, nothing works out the way it should, and get frustrated and quit the hobby.
I do agree starting small on a first layout is usually a good idea - until you get into the hobby and do all aspects of it, you won’t know for sure what you want to do many times. I slightly disagree about the trainset - if you know what you want to do, which RR etc. you could essentially make your own set based on your preferences. There are a couple of companies that make “track packs” (Bachmann, Atlas, Kato) you can use, they’re just the track. (BTW after 35 years in the hobby, I’m going to be using track w/roadbed (probably Bachmann, due to the variety of switches etc. available) on my new layout.)
Also, right now a decent DCC starter unit like a Digitrax Zephyr or MRC Prodigy doesn’t cost much more than a good DC powerpack - and remember, if you want to run two DC trains, you’ll need two powerpacks or one dualpower pack. There are a pretty good number of engines out now with DCC installed at the factory - plus I would look into sound, better now to get one or two good quality engines with sound. It’s too easy to buy too many engines esp. when you’re starting out and it all looks good!!
But bottom line is take the advice you think is right for you - it’s always good to take advice, but you know you better than anyone and need to build/run your RR empire to suit you.
I see a lot of us folks don’t like train sets too much. I started with a cheapo Life-Like (not P2K, that line wasn’t around then) and I can see why we don’t think highly of them. However, there are some train sets that are being offered nowadays that are made by reputable companies (as far as quality goes). Atlas is releasing (released) a train set using the Trainman products. Walthers did the Trainline sets as well, and even Athearn had some as well. I wish these were available back in the day when I got my first train set, but then again, I wouldn’t have bought it for $20 like I did my Life-Like. Are these newer sets worth investing in?
Going by their website, it appears to have a small DC powerpack, but the engine has dual mode decoder that will work under DC or DCC.
BTW I have no problem with some of the very good starter sets out now, especially one with Bachmann EZ-track which can easily be expanded. I was saying in my earlier post that if you know you want to run a particular engine, or there isn’t a trainset available for your favorite railroad, that you could buy the stuff independently. [:)]
As New York central 1 said the Bachmann 2-8-0 in the Frontiersman set is NOT the same junk that is found in most train sets. I have about 6 of these engines, and I am a member in a large club, where several other members also have some of these engines. They are very good looking, and even better running engines. I would not not hesitate to more of these, (actually I did just buy another about two months ago [:D])
Starting small like a 4x8 is a good way to get a little practice on your modeling skills, DCC, well there have been WARS started over smaller topics, DC is a good way to start, and the power packs can be used for things like powering switch machines and other accessories later if you do decide to go DCC. using a power pack for accessories can have advantages like using the variable DC output for adjusting the brightness of lighting, or controlling the speed of motorized accessories. So a power pack or two wont necessarily be wasted money
All of the above advice is excellent. I’m a newbie, too, but I’ve taken a bit of a different approach. I’ve tried to educate myself over the last year, having bought several of the Kalmbach books, joined a club and have been actively participating in this forum. I’ve purchased a few locos and rolling stock in my road name, but haven’t started my benchwork yet(delays in getting basement cleaned out and mitigated for radon as I’ve mentioned on other threads). My plan is to have a medium sized layout, approx. 8 X 14–around the walls plan, to incorprate some industries, switching and to allow broad curves. The advantage with this plan is that I think this will allow me to approach closer to my goals in my layout. The disadvantage, as you can see from my starting date on this forum, is that I’ve been in this planning/preporatory mode for a year now–I’m patient enough that’s that not that big of a deal, and can run my locos at my club, but this may not suit your priorities if you want to run trains on your home layout soon. Just thought I’d throw out a bit of a different view.
Even if there isn’t an actual club close to you, there may be some members “in between” where it is and your location, or just some other train folks in your area. And even one trip to a club might be quite valuable (just don’t get overwhelmed if they have a big, complex layout).
I’m on DCC, too, and have very mixed feelings about the recommendation to avoid it for now. I don’t know much about the other starter systems, but the NCE ProCab runs about $140 and is a full-function, upgradable system. As previously mentioned, as soon as you want to run two separate locomotives, DC gets rather difficult. And if you want sound, yes, some sound decoders run on DC, and have limited sound control on DC, but it’s really quite limited. DCC is vastly superior for sound locos.
You’ll almost certainly want to go DCC fairly soon, and the prediction that a set you buy now being obsolete soon just isn’t likely. Again, I don’t know about the others, but NCE releases upgrades every couple of years for a very nominal fee (12/04 was $5; the current one is $15) for a whole new EPROM (the brains). I bought the larger set in 2001 (the ProCab wasn’t out then), added radio a few years ago, and with the new updgrade it will be as advanced as a new one – operates exactly the same and runs exactly the same software.
All the more reason to bite the bullet for at least one visit to a club or someone else’s layout!
Some of the items your LHS says is fine. I would go DCC if you plan on running more then one engine. I would also go with Digitrax.
You need to think about what era you want to model so when you buy you buy items from that era.
Also once you really decide this is what you want to do. Plan your layout. There is RTS 7.0 Freeware out there that lets you create your layout on the computer. I used this to plan my current layout. I started 4 years ago and have made changes as I was laying track. Until every piece of track is laid it is easy to change.